United Nations Radio

More than 90,000 Somalis have fled their homes since the conflict between government forces and militants started at the beginning of May, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNCHR.

Somali Refugees

The UN refugee agency estimates that 35,000 of these people are still in the city looking for shelter in more secure areas because they have no means to leave.

Thousands of other people have fled to makeshift sites in the so-called Afgooye corridor about 30kilometres south-east of Mogadishu, joining hundreds of others already there.

The agency says 600 Somalis have said they are going to Ethiopia and more are ready to risk their lives and make the dangerous voyage with smugglers across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen.

UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond says the number of displaced Somalis crossing into Kenya has risen from an average of 100 a day to nearly 200 over the past week.

"Since the beginning of the year almost 32,000 people have crossed into Kenya. That brings the total number of Somali refugees in that country to more than 279,000, and most of those people are in Dadaab refugee camp which is one of the biggest most congested and oldest refugee camp in the world."

Ron Redmond says the United Nations refugee agency is rushing in aid to the displaced in Somalia.

Diane Bailey, United Nations.

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